Desmond and The Bernal Sphere
4 years, 1 month ago by AndreasRead more: Desmond, Lost Theories
It has been a while since we’ve seen Desmond. You might remember him as the paranoid guy who lived in the hatch and then ran off into the jungle.
Anyway, I found Desmond to be a very interesting character so I figured I would see if I could find some real world connection to his name.
Possibly contains spoilers
The first thing I found was that the name Desmond is of Celtic/Latin origin and means “man of the world”. This connection itself is pretty interesting, seeing how LOST’s Desmond was preparing for a “race around the world”, but I found something even stranger.
It turns out there was an Irish born scientist named John Desmond Bernal who died 1971. J. D. Bernal is known for pioneering X-ray crystallography. He also wrote a number of books with titles such as “The World, the Flesh & the Devil: An Inquiry into the Future of the Three Enemies of the Rational Soul”, “The Freedom of Necessity” and “World without War”.
Since we know that Locke and Rousseau got their names from philosophers, I wouldn’t be surprised if Desmond got his name from J. D. Bernal, who apparently was also a philosopher.
What makes John Desmond Bernal so interesting though is his ideas of a space habitat intended as a long term home for permanent residents in future space colonies – The Bernal Sphere.
The sphere was originally planned to be 16 kilometers in diameter and filled with air. It was supposed to contain a target population between 20,000 and 30,000. Many years later at Stanford University, a much smaller sphere was proposed. The smaller Bernal sphere with a 500 meter diameter and simulated Earth gravity and sunlight, was interestingly enough named “Island One”…
Comment 1, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
Heh, that’s very interesting. It might be a coincidence, but it’s a little too fitting. Does Desmond have stronger connections to the Dharma Initiative than what has been implied?
Comment 2, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
And that stuff happened around the 70’s eh?
Perhaps it correspondents with the time the Darma initiative started.
Just look at the projector and all the stuff in the hatch… it correspondents perfectly with the 70’s!
I already had some theory idea about a satellite like thing flying over the planet and coming over the island every 3 hours (180 minutes) and is above the horizon for about 4 minutes (the alarm time), so perhaps “the numbers” are some kind of pingback to the satellite or perhaps colony (?) from the island.
Who knows was this islands purpose to be some secret base to practice these kind of stuff but things would have gone wrong long time ago (what they called “the incident”…
Very intresting material!!
Comment 3, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
The thing with the satellite… correct me if I’m wrong, but can’t they just put in the numbers whenever they feel like it? Or do they have to put it in within the 4minute time limit? I missed a show, so I could be wrong.
Comment 4, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
Another interesting point to add. In the most recent episode Hugo and the new girl from the 9 others on the other part of the island are doing their clothes washing and she says
“The Washing machine is newer than anything else here”
just an interesting point considering the hatch was supposedly built in the 70’s.
The same scene Hugo says
“Do i know you from somewhere?” after this she pulls a confused face and tells Hugo to turn around so she can change (a diversion while she thinks) then soon after says “don’t you remember you stepped on my foot CRUNCH on the plane” Hugo doesn’t seem to remember this. Consider another person suss :)
Comment 5, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
To touch on the last post, that woman whom Hurley was washing clothes with is a psychiatrist. Hurley got the numbers from a patient in a pysch ward….Coincidence? Nope, not on this show.
This calls into question, Why did Hurley know that man? Was he a patient? In the episode where we discover Hurley won the lottery he mentioned to his mom that since he was living back home she would have to respect his privacy….so where was he living before hand?
As for Desmond. I believe he will pop up again when everything radically changes again, hences fulfilling “See you in another life.” But what his purpose is in the show is unclear as of now.
Comment 6, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
with the satelite thing maybe desmond fell asleep or was knocked out and the button wasnt pushed. the hatch sent a signal to the satelite, and it changed the path of the closest thing carrying anybody (being flight 815)to the island. that would explain desmonds ship crashing on the island and the plane crashing with ekos brother on it.
Comment 7, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
esael- maybe they have to wait until the satelite is over the island to send the signal to it. i dont know
Comment 8, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
wow, that makes a lot of sense. but whats with this satalite? did i miss an episode? oh, and did you see what happened when locke didn’t press the button?
it was like a missle, a skull, some symbol, and a few other things i cant quite make out. mabee if they dont press the button, a missile will be launched at the island. but, the blast doors inside would protect the people in the hatch.
although that makes no sense, its still possible.
and the life extension, the others.
the others are from WW2.
oh, but, something bad happens when you press the button, michael yells at Jack saying “do you know what happens avery time you press that button?! huh?!
-apivs
Comment 9, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
oh, and it does contain spoilers
Comment 10, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
LOST backwards spells STOL.
they trying to steal the island from the black man!
why are there so many white people on the island!
Comment 11, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
hey apvis thats a good theory. maybe another one of the stations is for missle study or something and the symbol is a skull and cross bones
Comment 12, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
erm… are you talking about the second season on lost? as im from england i have only seen the first season where walt gets taking by the others, oh by the way michael can you tell me if you were refering to the other who took walt or the other survivers of the oceanic flight which crashed who have not been introduced yet in the first season?? and can any of yous tell me if you know where i can get the second season on dvd?
Comment 13, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
well were still in the middle of the second season. if you don’t want any spoilers for the next season it wouldn’t be good to read everything on this site.
Comment 14, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
As seen in the most recenct episode, the failure to enter the numbers on time initiates a coundown. Some say they have seen a skull [positive] and perhaps ‘crossbones’ ,[aka "Jollyroger"], the symbol recognisably used by pirates. While the LOST team was gathering dynamite to blow open the hatch they went to a pirate ship. I may be very behind everyone, but the guy that leads the “Others” has characteristics similar to a pirate. Knowing that, there are many generations of people on the island, do people not age? Everyone seems to be either clean shaven or 5 o’clock shadow. I think it would be to easy to say that the LOST crew [fell] into the “Bermuda Triangle”.
Comment 15, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
When you refer to a skull / crossbones / jollyroger are you referring to the graphics on the countdown timer? If so, someone else has already decrypted the hieroglyphs – they basically say something akin to ’cause to die’. I cannot find the link I found, but the research was quite convincing and good.
Comment 16, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
It’s obvious that they’re not in the Bermuda Triangle. The Bermuda Triangle is in the Atlantic Ocean, not the Pacific.
Comment 17, posted 4 years ago - Quote and reply
Hey Lee, you can download single episodes of Lost seasons one and two at itunes.com for one or two dollars each.
Comment 18, posted 3 years, 10 months ago - Quote and reply
Conspirious Black Guy wrote:
I do think it’s a little weird we’ve seen no Black “others”…or? Have we?
But hey! Andreas! Are you hinting that you think the island might be on some kind of massive space ship? (Or did you just flat out say that?) Cuz while it would probably piss EVERYBODY off if they did that, I think it’s a really cool idea.
I just can’t imagine how they would explain that. Did the producers ever say the plane really crashed? Is there a link to all the stuff the producers said somewhere? A lot of people (accidentally) misquote them and it’s hard to keep up.
How are you developing this theory Andreas? My thinking is it’s really neat, but it’s yet another red herring they’ve thrown out there for us to eat up and enjoy. The sheer number of references to things like this makes most of them impossible.
Comment 19, posted 3 years, 10 months ago - Quote and reply
SpinPapi wrote:
I guess that I am somewhat hinting at that possibility. I’m not saying that it’s THE theory I believe in, because I don’t really know what to believe, but the idea of a space habitat connects to my other idea of an Utopian society.
Also, Desmond said that he was preparing for a race around the world. What if he was referring to spending some time on a space habitat orbiting around the earth?
I’m going to write a new theory based on my Utopian space habitat ideas. Keep your eyes open.
Comment 20, posted 3 years, 10 months ago - Quote and reply
Andreas wrote:
Oooh! Will do, man. Clever interpretation of Desmond’s comment. =]
And it would explain why they never hear planes flying overhead dropping supplies. (Maybe they’re provided from below through trap doors that lead to airlocks where supply ships dock? I can’t believe I just typed that.) This is a wayyy out there theory though, and creates more spectacular questions, the answers to which I can’t imagine LOST fans accepting: how did they get there w/o knowing what was happening to them? Why wouldn’t we see such a massive structure from Earth, or do they explain that by putting the show in an alternate reality? Why an island, which is so much harder to build (and fake) than a ship w/o windows in which they could do stuff w/o the participants knowing what was going on?
You better hurry w/your theory explanation, because ten days from now, we’ll know why the plane crashed, and that will be that. Unless it’s not…knowing these guys…
Comment 21, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
couple questions to consider after the finale
- did calvin really die
-since henry seems to always be good and tell the truth, then did he really come to get john? can “god” really not see them on this supposed island?
- why were the others not upset with the sky turning a violet color and the sound coming from the hatch?
-when john got his leg caught, and it went into shutdown, the last episode reveals how u make the hatch go into lockdown mode, and you do it from within the hatch, so who was in the hatch with john and henry, you can infer its one of henrys ppl b/c it turns off as soon as henry gets to the computer, this makes you also able to infer that calvin isnt dead or infac this wrazinski figure, calvins predecessor, is with the others.
-desmond is a world class sailor, why isnt he able to get off the island,is there infact a magnetic pull?
-what does one snowman say to another is obviosusl what the show revolves around, and theres some connection betwwen this, the polar bear, the men at the end of the season at the polar ice caps and all of the island.
- why let hurley go, he is the one who didnt use force?
Comment 22, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
I do think it’s a little weird we’ve seen no Black “othersâ€â€¦or? Have we?
Ms. Klugh (Clue)…
Comment 23, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
tim jennings wrote:
I thought he said his name was “Kelvin”, which could be siginificant scientifically, anyway to verify the name?
Comment 24, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
tim jennings wrote:
I’m not sure a magnetic pull would have too much effect on the sailboat.
Comment 25, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
we have seen black “others” there is a woman whome Michael had spoke to. I know that Henry with the “others” seems to be evil but I think that maybe in the next seaon we will realize he is not the bad guy in actuality. At the end of the final episode, I wonder what was up with the people who called Desmond’s ex-girlfriend after they recieved some sort of messege? They obviously have something to do with the island and the strange happenings. I can’t wait till next season!
Comment 26, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
In the flash back where jack’s dad is banging at the door of a woman holding a baby… did any one else notice the woman looked remarkanly like Claire? Could jack and Claire be brother and sister?…..
Libby, the woman whom Hurley was falling for was a patient in the Pysch ward at the same time hurley was there as a patient. She was also the woman who gave Desmond the boat (named Elizabeth) after the death of her husband, (I presume she was in the psych ward due to losing her mind over th death of her hubster?…)
Any ideas to the jack Claire connection?…
Comment 27, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
Oh yeah and to the people at the ice caps… They said something to effect of having missed it again.. could this refer t the time when the numbers were not entered before, when the system went into failure and the plane crashed on 9.22 as recorded on the log. As the system failed again and the shield went down the tracking device on the ship sailed by Desmond would have been able to be tracked (outside the giant snow globe) by Desmond’s Gal Pal as she is apparently waiting forever for him to return. ( as she has the financial means to track the ship and her lover…) Also could the polar bear some how have been transported from the ice cap tracking dudes to the island during that down time?
Comment 28, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
“What did one snowman say to the other snowman?”
This seems, to me, to be a code. Like in old spy movies when spies meet their contacts, they always have code phrases that, upon the correct response, will alert the spy that he is speaking to the correct person. “Smells like carrots” is the correct answer to the joke. (It’s like “why did the chicken cross the road?”) When the hatch attendant sees someone new on the island, he tells them joke, hoping to get the correct response signaling that his replacement has arrived. Calvin asked Desmond and then Desmond asked Locke. Locke asked Desmond again just out of curiousity.
Comment 29, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
Here is something to look at. first, if you go to the hansofoundation.org site, let the primary introduction play and get to the home page of the site then go to the top left corner of the page, right click on the hanso pic and select play you should notice the static sound you hear at the beginning of lost. Additionaly, if you go to the hanso careers section of the site you will see 5 open positions. Those 5 positions can be directly traced in some way back to specific members on the island (Personal Assistant, Organ Courier, Psychologist, Veterinarian, Anger Management Director)Are the persons on the island directly linked to the hanso foundation? What was the name of the assylum that hurley and libbey went to?
Adduitionaly, on the hansofoundation.org site if you try to sign up for the newsletter you are greeted by persephony after you enter a name… what is the password? does anyone know???
Comment 30, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
the password is “breaking strain”. Trust me.
Comment 31, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
Will Micheal end up at the other side of the island, or did The Others give him the correct numbers(coordinates) to get away from the magnetic island? What kind of powers does Walt have that would make the others give him and a boat up? (unless they know that Micheal will end up at the other end of the island)?
Comment 32, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
What log in id works on the hanso site?
Comment 33, posted 3 years, 9 months ago - Quote and reply
I asked the same question when I watched the finale – is Kelvin really dead? who knows.
When Desmond is talking to John, it is said that he learned how to ‘fake’ a lockdown. I think the one that John experienced which injured him was a real lockdown, because there was a food drop along with it. They had to learn to ‘fake’ something that was real.
And what brought down the drug smuggling plane?
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